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‘Saving Hope’ S5 Ep 6 review: Changes

Are emotions getting the best of Hope Zion’s finest? That’s one of the big questions our favorite TV docs grapple with in “Doctor Robot.” Maggie and Alex are at odds about how they should treat Bree (Rebecca Liddiard). Thomas (Joe Dinicol) continues shaking things up at the hospital and appoints Charlie as the new interim chief, which forces him to choose sides in Maggie and Alex’s medical dispute. Meanwhile, Zach’s exhibitionist patient urges the skilled ER doc not to sell himself short by complacently succumbing to Thomas’ drastic changes. On the personal front, Alex’s meddling mother, Martha (Jennifer Dale), causes a commotion when she bursts onto the scene and surprisingly has a health scare of her own. Let’s see who is moving on, moving out and moving on up in the latest episode of ‘Saving Hope.’

Doctor Feels

We’ve seen these doctors tackle extremely personal cases before. They’ve treated their friends, family and colleagues. They’ve even squabbled over which course of treatment to pursue. Thankfully, all of those past cases end up as success stories. Unfortunately, Alex and Maggie are not so lucky this time around.
Maggie has been growing closer to Bree. After breaking up with her fiancee, Violet, and being ostracized by her family, the young woman is left all lone. Maggie is walking a fine line. She is not only Bree’s doctor, but she’s become a close friend and confidant. The irony is that Alex pushed for Bree to be part of their study and Maggie hesitated to include someone who wouldn’t have the proper support system. Now, Maggie has taken this supportive role upon herself. Given their chemistry and the bond they’re quickly forging, it seems like Maggie and Bree are falling for each other. We all know that when emotions enter the picture, it is difficult to view things objectively.

Compared to the other women in the trial, Bree’s health is not improving. In fact, the cancerous growths are increasing in size. However, she’s also new to the trial, so it may just be a matter of time. When they discover a blockage in her intestines, Alex wants to immediately operate. Maggie disagrees because the terms of the trial state that patients cannot undergo surgery. In the long run, it is more important to cure her cancer than it is to remove the obstruction. The doctors have reached a stalemate and need an objective opinion to make the ultimate decision.

After Dawn put her patient first and disobeyed Thomas’ orders, he fired her. Now he’s trying to find a replacement and sees that Charlie holds the best record as Chief of Surgery (Go Charlie!). He presses Cassie for an honest opinion about reinstating Charlie. She says he’s unconventional, but brilliant. When Alex and Maggie tell Thomas they need the help of their new chief, the bureaucrat ambushes Charlie. Thomas clearly doesn’t have the medical knowledge to do so himself, so Charlie is left with no other choice.

Seconds later, Alex and Maggie make their case. Charlie sides with Maggie and agrees that they should do what is best for Bree’s health in the long run. Alex is appalled and peeved. She confronts Charlie and thinks he sided with Maggie because of their break-up. Come on, Alex. Her behavior continues to disappoint. She is adding insult to injury and Charlie doesn’t deserve this kind of crap. The look he gives her is spot-on. He’s been holding it together and handling everything so well, especially since he has to watch her fawn all over Manny and exchange flirty glances with him every day at work. Ugh…Yeah, I’m still on Team Charlie.

Later, Charlie moves into Dawn’s office. He didn’t realize how much he missed
being Chief because it enabled him to oversee various fields in the hospital. Technically, it puts him in an even better position for ghost doctoring. His suggestions won’t seem so random if he supposed to have a say in all sorts of cases. Of course, he’s not just accepting this position for the fun of it. Charlie warns Thomas that he’ll be watching. Good! He is making so many changes and they’re happening way too quickly. Give the doctors a break!

Side-note: I also don’t think it is appropriate for Thomas to ask Cassie out because it puts her in a really bad position with her co-workers, especially Dev, who is rightfully pissed at Thomas for making drastic and detrimental changes. She may put in herself in position where is she either liked by her peers or liked by Thomas. I just plain don’t like any of it in general. Okay, back to Bree…

In the end, Alex and Maggie are forced to operate on Bree. Unfortunately, the surgery is even more dangerous now since Maggie gave her blood-thinners after they decided not to operate. Alex and Maggie work together on Bree and desperately try saving her as safely as possible. Maggie admits she’s become too emotionally attached. If only they could be unemotional and totally objective with their patients…like “Doctor Robots.” Alex makes a good point: they wouldn’t be great doctors, if they didn’t care.

Sadly, Bree doesn’t seamlessly pull through like we expected her to. She ends up in a coma and Maggie feels horrible about it. A preview of the next episode, “Gutted,” shows that Alex, Maggie and Hope Zion will be under investigation for what’s happened to Bree. But wait, there’s more drama in store!

Hello Luvah

As the episode ends, Charlie meets up with a mystery woman (Kristin Lehman) at
a bar. We find out that he hasn’t called her since college. They banter, tell jokes, down a couple of shots and don’t waste any time heading back to her place. Here’s the twist: Charlie’s college sweetheart is the lawyer questioning Alex, Maggie and more in “Gutted.” Whoa! Does Alex have any idea that the lawyer has a history and present entanglement with Charlie? Watch the tension between Alex and Lehman’s character in this promo.

Lehman told The TV Junkies that she will only be in a few episodes. The show-runners initially wanted to bring her back again toward the end of the season, but the course of their narrative changed with time. Here’s what Lehman has to say about her character:

She and Michael Shanks’ character go way back to college, where I believe they probably enjoyed each other in a casual way, and he calls her out of the blue and she is now a lawyer. She’s just a really capable, confident, take no bullshit kind of woman. She makes no apologies and she’s not part of the drama that has been his life of you know comas and ghosts and fiancés and children. And she doesn’t really indulge him. She comes on board because she’s come to take the place of a colleague who is investigating Alex and Maggie and it just so happens that she was with him [Charlie] the night before when she gets the call about the case.

Oh boy! Things are getting very interesting and intense. Read The TV Junkies’ full interview HERE for more scoop. Is Charlie really moving on from Alex? Is this just a little casual distraction from all the heartbreak? Since it doesn’t seem like Lehman will be sticking around, I think it is safe to assume Charlie is just having a fun fling that quickly takes an awkward turn. What do you think?

Checking Out

Zach treats an ER patient who calls himself Nude Dude. He is repeatedly arrested because he refuses to wear clothes. He seems nutty at first, but the chattier he gets, we realize that Nude Dude makes a few good points.

Thomas is cracking down on Hope Zion and he’s changing the ER into an Urgent Care facility. He’s already shipping out their equipment, which it makes it very difficult for Zach to treat his patients.

Nude Dude acts as an unbiased by-stander. He sees how frustrated Zach is becoming throughout the course of the day and offers some advice. Zach is too skilled of a doctor to waste his talents on a BS “urgent care” center. He deserves better and shouldn’t settle for the limitations Thomas is forcing upon him.

Following in Dawn’s footsteps, Zach takes a stand against Thomas. When one of his regular patients comes, he unwraps the equipment and does what he needs to help her out. Consequences be damned! Zach is here to heal people and he can’t do that with one hand tied behind his back.

In the end, he helps Nude Dude escape from the cops and comes to a realization.
The quirky, lime disease stricken rebel is right. Zach can’t do this. When Charlie walks-in to find Nude Dude streaking in the ambulance bay, Zach matter-of-factly says, “I quit.”

Has Hope Zion really lost two of its finest doctors? It is hard to tell. The images for “Gutted” show Dawn and Zach working in hospital, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re at Hope Zion. Maybe they’ll eventually move to Vancouver , so they can be closer to Zach’s children and work at a fully functioning hospital. Or Thomas may have a change of heart and reconsider all of the drastic changes he’s making for monetary reasons. He thinks he’s doing what is best for the hospital, but what good is Hope Zion without it’s most respected doctors?

Funny Bone

Charlie’s supernatural case involves Peter Stone, a man whose funny bone is broken. The odd thing about this patient is that he spews out cheesy jokes almost like it is an involuntary tick. However silly or lame the jokes may be, Peter and his wife’s laughter becomes infectious. Charlie is the only one who is able to keep a straight face, which is a good thing since Peter’s spirit continues rattling off jokes during his surgery.

When Peter begins repeating jokes, Charlie realizes that he may have a neurological problem. While Peter is in recovery, Charlie asks his wife when the sense of humor kicked in. She shares their sad story. They lost their son eight years ago. After that, Peter became a somber and serious person. Then a few weeks ago, he started joking around. He even joined an improv troupe. It’s like their lives changed overnight.

Charlie and Shahir run some tests. They discover that Peter has an aneurysm which caused the change in his personality. If Shahir doesn’t operate on him, he’ll die. Charlie consoles Peter’s spirit during the surgery.

Peter explains how the aneurysm was like a gift that lifted this overwhelming weight off of his shoulders. He fears he will never feel that kind of levity again. Charlie believes that is not true. He can still find happiness in his life despite the pain he will always feel after losing his son. He asks Peter to tell another joke and as he begins speaking, his spirit vanishes.

Once again, we see how Charlie’s gift is a blessing. If he didn’t see Peter’s spirit, he may not have noticed the signs. Or maybe he would’ve seen them too late. It was entertaining to have two quirky patients at Hope Zion in the midst of the chaotic changes and personal drama. The levity offered viewers a welcomed break from the stress.

Mama Drama

Alex is on a casual running date of sorts with Manny when she receives a call from the alarm company saying there may be an intruder in her condo. They rush to her place and are shocked to find Martha, her mother. This is the first time we’ve really seen her. The only glimpse we’ve had of Martha was during the moving flashback when Alex was walking in her shoes. We know they’ve had a strained relationship and now we have a better understanding why.

Martha a force to be reckoned with and she doesn’t hold anything back. She chatters on about how Alex’s man cave of a condo needs a make over now that Charlie is gone. Then she feels bad for interrupting the love birds and makes things even more awkward. Once she advises how, when and where Alex and Manny can get it on, the poor guy is spared from further horrors. Alex apologies as she escorts him out. Geesh, Martha…TMI to the extreme!

The next morning, Martha wants to look after Baby Luke. She’s been sober for two years and promises nothing will go wrong. Alex is hesitant, but decides to give her a chance. Charlie isn’t thrilled to hear his son is in unreliable hands and he’s surprised Alex is okay with it. Turns out, he has a reason to be concerned.

Martha brings Baby Luke into the ER with a bump on his head. Shahir is stunned to see her and doesn’t like the idea of keeping this visit a secret from Alex. Baby Luke seems alright, so he gives Martha a pass this one time, being the boy’s godfather and all. He tells her to keep a low profile and hurry out before Alex
knows any better.

About an hour later, Martha is incoherently rolling Baby Luke through the halls of Hope Zion. Alex thinks her mother is drunk, until she collapses. Shahir thinks it might be neurological. He keeps Martha over night to run some tests. Shahir doesn’t want to speculate what the problem could be and won’t discuss the diagnosis with Alex until he knows exactly what’s wrong.

Alex insists on spending the night next to her mother, by Martha tells her to go home and get some sleep. She wouldn’t want a groggy surgeon operating on her and there’s nothing for Alex to do anyway. She listens to Mom and heads home.

Manny stops by with take-out food. They eat and talk for a while, but Alex stops things from progressing any further…at least for now. Manny understands and says he’s the king of take-out, so they’ll do it another night.

I have to admit, I expected Alex to hook-up with Manny before seeing Charlie with anyone. She probably would have if her mother didn’t complicate things. There’s also a difference in their new romances. Alex seems to be really falling for Manny, whereas Charlie is causally hooking-up with a woman from his past.

Is there still hope for ChAlex? Are they still in love with each other? Will more conflicts arise between them over work or Baby Luke’s well-being? How do you feel about their respective romantic pursuits? Is Thomas pissing you off too? Should he hold back on some of the changes? Were you surprised to see Zach quit? What’s your impression of Martha? Are you happy to see her re-enter Alex’s life? What did you think of Zach and Charlie’s quirky cases? Are you afraid Alex and Maggie will lose their medical licenses? Share your thoughts below!

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Zach and Dawn…I don’t think Dawn was outright fired, just relieved of the Chief position. I don’t know that she’ll let go of that quietly or be content without being able to do transplants though. I think since Zach is in the next episode, either Dawn or Charlie has convinced him to stay for the short term. Charlie may change Thomas’ mind, or he will come to see Hope Zion can’t function without an ER.

Charlie…I think his ghost encounter again helped him make a decision in his own life. When he was telling Peter the aneurysm was a chance to remind him of who he was before his tragedy, Charlie probably made the same connection with the Chief position. It’s a chance to return to where he was before his accident, but with the ability and freedom to use his ghost doctoring on a larger scale.

I think Charlie’s fling is just that, and he and Marie (I think that’s her name) always had a casual, fun, friends-with-benefits relationship. I think it’s interesting that he again turns to an old friend/flame for company, and that likely means he’s not over Alex and not ready to start over with someone new.

I think the same with Alex…though she seems to be trying her hardest to push Charlie away, she’s still hesitant to take another step with Manny. I think her mother will play an important role in the direction she takes and will set her straight on the cursed mentality.